


Escaping the City

by EdgyAestheticUsername



Series: Half-Life Reader Inserts [1]
Category: Half-Life
Genre: Barney/Reader if you squint, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, I havent written one of these suckers since 2013, Reader-Insert, hope its up to snuff folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25295113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgyAestheticUsername/pseuds/EdgyAestheticUsername
Summary: You're part of the Resistance, and had been stationed at City 17. Then the Citadel blew up, and suddenly the whole place was a ticking time bomb. You join up with Barney Calhoun and a few others to escape on the train.
Series: Half-Life Reader Inserts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832479
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	Escaping the City

**Author's Note:**

> I have Many feelings for Barney Calhoun and I WILL project them, if you enjoy this, so be it. And feel free to let me know!

You don’t know much about Barney Calhoun. You know that he’s a sort of general for the Resistance, and you know that he’s working undercover to get intel on the Combine. Or, was. That part you just found out. Because of what Freeman is up to, he had to leave his position; it was compromised, and suddenly there are a lot of people that need to be shipped out of City 17. He didn’t want to leave all those people on their own, you guessed. You’re one of those people, of course, and now you have to trust him- and Freeman- with your life. With the last explosion and another one apparently not far behind, you did  _ not  _ want to stick around and see it first hand, anyway. You happened to be in the right place at the right time you supposed, as Barney told you and the other two to get ready to leg it to the train as soon as Gordon was ready for you. You’d survived the initial blow somehow, and so did just a few others in your squad. They’d already gotten to the train ahead of you and you had to assume they did so safely. 

There’s suddenly a hand on your shoulder and you jump, clutching your shotgun tighter. Barney keeps talking as he steps past you. “We just gotta make one more push, then we’re in the clear.” He speaks in that slight Southern drawl. As soon as he finishes, Freeman steps back in the door, loading a new clip into his machine gun as he did. He nods once to Barney, a clearly fake hard look on his face. Barney beams at him. “Alright, this is it! Last push, then we can get the hell outta here! C’mon, Gordon!” The general hefts his own weapon, cocking it. 

With that, Freeman turns on his heel and bolts back across the open space. Barney’s on his heels, the other two Rebels running in front of you. You stick as close as you can, before gunfire opens to your distant right. You turn, aiming your gun, but before you get your shot off, the Combine in your sights is down. Freeman’s revolver is smoking, only briefly. You're lining up a shot on another when you're suddenly aware of the blue laser trained on you, forcing you to duck behind the shell of an old car before the sniper fires. Both Freeman and Barney are standing at the fence to the train station, blasting off shots with what you assume is terrifying precision. Barney suddenly lowers his gun and gestures widely for you to get closer. 

"C'mon, we don't got all day!” He calls, and you listen. You push off of the car with your head down, rushing between Freeman and Barney up the ramp and over the fence. They stay close behind you as you enter the train station, already firing on the Combines in the busted window. You barely register the broken glass all over the floor. 

“Follow me!” Barney yells to you three rebels, leading the way up a flight of stairs. You follow, last again, with Freeman behind you reloading his revolver. How did he even cary so many kinds of weapons?

You didn’t have time to dwell on that, as soon as you’re on the catwalk, a Combine soldier swings in through the window and swiftly knocks you on your side. You’ve barely twisted with your gun up when red sprays from its head and it falls to the floor, emitting a high sound. Freeman hauls you up by your arm and sets you on your feet. He gives you a very, very brief once-over and spins you around, giving you a light push. You don’t need to be told twice, you take off again, spotting Alyx Vance behind the barrier of a large gun. 

“Combine!” She shouts, shots going off. You’re hardly a few feet away from her when something impacts with your leg. It’s so hard and fast that it knocks you down mid-step, landing hard on your elbows. At first, you think it was a loose rock that hit you, or some kind of debris, but the way your leg starts radiating dull pain from where you were hit says otherwise. You’re struggling back to your feet and out of the way when Freeman, once again, is hauling you up. YOu somehow keep the grip on your gun.

You’re dragging your leg now as he pulls you over to the back door, setting you against the wall. You’re not sure why you can’t put your weight on it. Barney’s in front of you instead in a second, hand on your shoulder. You look up at his dirtied, tired face. “You gonna make it? We just gotta make it to that train!” He gestures with his chin out the window next to you. There are muffled rifle shots going off out there, too, along with the sound of bots flying in. You don’t get the chance to answer.

“They’re not after you! Gordon and I can draw their fire while you escape.” Alyx rushes in, somewhat breathless. Barney turns away from you. 

“Are you sure?” You can practically hear him raise his eyebrow. 

“Sure I’m sure, Gordon and I can take them! No problem!” She throws her arm around the man in the HEV suit, and you can’t help but notice that he hasn’t answered himself. He doesn’t get the chance to, either.

“Well… Alright, then. Let’s get our sorry asses outta here then!” Barney calls, getting muttered agreements from you and the other two rebels.

The muffled gunfire seems to have stopped, and with that, the door to the platform is thrown open. Barney allows Alyx and Gordon out first, and almost immediately, there are bots targeting Gordon. You’re ushered out next, being the closest to the door. You stumble to the platform and on to the train. There’s a dozen other people inside already, slumped into the empty car and you join them easily enough. You lean your head back against the cool metal, shotgun held in your shaking arms. Two other people follow after you, and you see Barney standing on the car’s platform. “Alright! Now c’mon! We gotta go before they show up again!” He yells.

“We can’t! We have to draw them away from you guys, we’ll get this next one going!” Alyx yells back, much more distant.

Barney puts his hands on his hips for a moment. He sighs and shakes his head, muttering something you don’t really catch. “Well… alright then. I’ll see ya when I see ya!” He turns away from them, voice rising even more to be heard at the front of the train. “Let’s get outta here!” He commands, and the whole thing starts to move. Barney turns again to watch the station disappear as yours goes down the tunnel. 

As the train starts to distance itself from the city, the dull pain in your leg starts to get more intense, and you grit your teeth. You glance down and don’t see blood, so you try to brush it off. Emphasis on “try”, it’s  _ really  _ starting to hurt, you realize, letting your gun slip out of your lap. You start to clutch at where you think the wound is, not yet able to see anything in the dim cabin lighting. You’re being as careful as you can as you feel for the injury, wincing as you touch the spot. It’s at the side of your calf, and you realize it’s really just a graze. You hate to think how bad it might have been if it was a direct hit, the idea making you shudder. You don’t notice that Barney has joined you all until he’s kneeling in front of you. Your gaze snaps up to him, surprised. It’s then that the train exits the tunnel, light flooding back in through the windows.

“You got hit, didn't cha?” He asks kindly. 

You nod. “Figures, right? Almost out, and then…”

He nods back, chuckling lightly. It’s a nice sound. “Yeah, figures. Hey, can I get a med kit?” He asks the medic not far to your right. He’s handed one and opens it. “Mind if I have a look?”

You shrug, trying to stretch out your injured leg. “I guess, sure…”

Barney sits in front of you, scrutinizing the injury for a moment. With the way the light is filtering through, you can clearly see his eyes. Part green, part brown, though they’re symmetrical. You catch yourself thinking that you want a closer look when he speaks. “Pulse Rifle…” He mutters, starting to roll up the cuff of your jeans to your knee. 

The feeling of denim rubbing over the effected area has you wincing, and pressing your head back against the wall again. He pats your knee with a hand he’s freed of his uniform’s gloves. “Take it easy, darlin’. Long ride, I’ll see what I can do.” He says reassuringly. 

He grew up before the Black Mesa incident, same as you, so you know that he’s just calling you that because he calls  _ everyone _ that. It’s to be polite, you tell yourself, squeezing your eyes shut as he starts to clean your injury as best he can. You bite the inside of your cheek for good measure.

You hadn’t realized you’d drifted out of consciousness until you snapped back into it with a jolt. Barney glances up at you as you do, offering a lop-sided smile. “Almost done here. Should heal up okay, gonna scar though…” He tells you, tying up bandages around your wound. It doesn’t hurt as much now, and you’d guess he put something on it to help. 

“Thanks, Calhoun. I really appreciate that, and uh… covering us on the way out.” You say back lowly.

He rolls his eyes as he finishes rolling the leg of your pants back down. “Please, just call me Barney. It’s easier.”

“If you say so, Barney.” You offer him a smile of your own, watching as he settles himself across from you. 

He nudges your old tennis shoe with his boot gently. “You’re welcome, by the way. Glad I could do somethin’.”

You’re about to respond when the entire train shakes violently, like something just struck it from the back. The way it rocks, you think for a moment it’s going to fall right off the rails, but it doesn’t. Still, the lights flicker, and people cry out as they’re jostled. 

Barney’s the only one to shoot back up to his feet. He stumbles out the door of the car, eyes wide. You sit up a little more to try and see what’s going on. All you can see it a blinding light in the distance, and then you hear the sound of a massive explosion.

“Gordon! Alyx!” Barney screams, horrified at what he just witnessed. It had to have been the Citadel. You start to stand and follow him, wanting to offer him some kind of comfort, but he turns and closes the door before you can. His face is twisted in a kind of pain you didn’t realize you never wanted to see him in. 

You slump down again. Those two had to have made it out… right? You wouldn’t sure what the Resistance would do if not, so you chose not to think about it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't mind doing requests! This was more fun than I expected it to be, and I'd love to write more with Barney, but I'm not sure what else to do. Feel free to let me know your thoughts int the comments, and maybe leave a suggestion or two! No promises I'll do it, but I'd appreciate the inspiration :D!


End file.
